BERKLEY — The Berkley area’s role in the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by slave to escape to free states, will be discussed this Sunday during a presentation sponsored by the town’s historical society.

“Underground Railroad Through Berkley” is a presentation by amateur historian Kenneth E. Amaral, taking place at the Boondocks Restaurant across from The Common Crossing on Sunday at 4 p.m. The event, sponsored by the Berkley Historical Society, is free and open to the public at the North Main Street restaurant.

“It starts with the beginning of the Underground Railroad and how slaves moved to the North and used safe houses along the way,” said Amaral, who is also a justice of the peace in Berkley. “I’ll talk about how there were some houses in Swansea, Boston and New Bedford, and potentially one in Berkley. It also talks about some tunnels used, although most of the railroad was used waterways. The presentation goes into some safe houses that possibly may have been in Berkley.”

Amaral said he will discuss Harriet Tubman and the role that the Quakers played in moving slaves on the path to freedom.

The presentation will feature old maps of Berkley and the locations of certain houses that are believed to be safe houses for slaves.

Jeanne Russo, of the Berkley Historical Society, said that she and others are looking forward to the event. Russo said she has heard stories from older town residents who knew about Berkley’s suspected ties to the Underground Railroad.

“They have little snippets of info,” Russo said. “We are going to have some sharing of information after he speaks. If we don’t, this part of the history will be lost. It’s part of our history.”

Russo said a member of the town’s cable committee would film Sunday’s event.

Russo said the presentation comes in a time of transition for the Berkley Historical Society, which does not have a home. After the old Town Hall was condemned, the organization had to move all of its historical material into storage, she said.

“We are trying to breath some life into the society,” Russo said. “We really feel we want to be part of Berkley’s future. We want to bring the society to life. One way of doing it is to have these events, bring people in and learn about the history of the town and make friends with the society. That’s what we are doing.”